The hiring portion of the College Football Playoff kicked off on Monday Afternoon when the Virginia Tech Hokies were able to land James Franklin. One of the most interesting aspects of Virginia Tech being the first to fill their vacancy is the fact that the Hokies weren't viewed as one of the top jobs available.
This coaching carousel is going to be one of the craziest we've ever seen with programs like LSU, Penn State, and Florida all looking for head coaches while big jobs may open after these final two weeks. When the biggest programs need a coach, they often go looking for the biggest fish they can real in.
The College Football Playoff adds a unique wrinkle to the coaching carousel
The 2024-25 coaching carousel was oddly quiet which didn't allow us to see what it would be like if a team wanted to hire a coach who was in the Playoff. Now that there are job openings in every Power 4 conference, we're going to see schools looking for the biggest name they can hire.
The biggest name almost every program would love to land is Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin. This week, Lane Kiffin's family has already toured Baton Rouge and Gainesville making it more likely that he leaves Oxford. The issue is will LSU or Florida show that they're willing to wait to hire their next head coach?
The quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff are played on December 31st and January 1st which is notable. This year we only have one transfer portal window in college football which opens on January 2nd. Considering how close to the Transfer Portal the Playoff runs, it's a massive question of whether either program would be willing to possibly miss a transfer cycle waiting to hire their head coach.
There's a new addition to Lane Kiffin's situation which is Tulane Head Coach Jon Sumrall, as the Tulane Green Wave are ranked 24th in the rankings making them the highest ranked Group of 5 program. Plenty of programs are going to want to hire Jon Sumrall, but if Tulane makes the second round, they may look to other coaches.
This is truly the first time we're going to see the Playoff impact that coaching carousel which makes for a fascinating precedent to watch moving forward.